Elden Ring: The Shattering!

The firewall was twisted and crushed by magical force, while the oil gradually burned away, extinguishing at the core.

Knight Daliger stood at the bow of the ship, his gaze locked on the two Glintstone Dragons locked in a deadly struggle in the lake behind him, then turned his attention to the Magic Instructor who was continuously retching.

"This fool is panicking and using too much magic!"

He frowned, but upon further thought, if it were a skilled Sorcerer in the art of assassination, he wouldn't have acted in such a manner, letting his emotions take over.

Ignoring the Sorcerer behind him, Daliger noticed the battlefield littered with burned corpses, some of which had been pierced by massive crossbow bolts. The remains were scattered beneath, with fewer than half of the eighty-strong assault team remaining. He decisively drew his greatsword.

"Advance, Cuckoo!"

The remaining Cuckoo soldiers quickly stood up, forming a small square formation. They raised their shields, locking their shoulders together, and marched forward, stepping over the burning embers. As they treaded the hard ground, a whistling sound pierced the air.

Thud...

The first soldier in the front was struck in the eye with an arrow, screaming in agony as he fell, and the hated twang of a crossbow followed.

"Are these Carian people constructing traps?" Daliger immediately realized the enemy wasn't all dead. Instead, they were hiding in the shadows, continuing to launch attacks. On the other hand, his own side had ample light to expose them, turning their forces into living targets.

"Attack! Do not waste time on these remnants!" The knight charged forward, his greatsword swinging to knock away arrows, and then pulled his shield-wielding soldiers forward.

Two knights surged ahead, crossing over the shattered chest-high barrier, trampling the broken crossbow fragments beneath their feet. Upon closer inspection, all that remained on the ground were a shattered sword and shield, broken into small pieces.

He cursed under his breath.

Daliger pushed forward, climbing over the trench and heading up the hillside. Beyond lay the estate, enveloped in flames, with the desperate screams of battle reaching his ears.

The main force had already breached the city walls. Once they struck from behind, the Carian forces would surely collapse!

While he was deep in thought, an arrow suddenly shot from the pine forest to his right, striking a nearby soldier, who fell to the ground and rolled in agony.

"Still not scattering!?" The knight widened his eyes, realizing the remaining forces were managing to constrain their advance, hesitating in place. A flash of red light erupted in the night sky.

That was Captain Matthew questioning why they had not yet attacked.

"First squad, follow me and deal with these pesky flies! Torre, take the others and clear a path, we need to set fire to the Carian storerooms!"

In an instant, he made his decision: the assault team was not to waste time playing hide-and-seek with the scattered enemy but instead to charge in, destroy the storerooms, and wipe out the remaining wounded forces, ultimately breaking the Carian defense lines and morale!

"They're splitting their forces." Kaelith leaned against the tree, using the Fire Pot to ignite a flame and saw more than thirty Cuckoo soldiers split into two teams. The one wielding a spear with knights leading three others charged toward the forest, while the main force, led by another knight, rushed toward the estate on the other side. The bulging bags on their backs made it clear what they were carrying.

"We'll split our forces too. Captain, you continue to delay over there, leave this side to me."

The woman paused for a moment. She had initially prepared for a deathmatch by the lake, but now, pulled away, she asked, "Are you sure?"

"Very sure." Kaelith nodded seriously.

In battle, there was no room for hesitation. Carine, with her bow in hand, stepped forward, then turned back to gently pat Kaelith.

"Take care."

"Don't die." The rugged man, carrying the Fire Pot, added a few words before heading out.

"I'll bring your ashes back to the village."

"Go to hell." Kaelith pretended to kick, and Arnold quickly dodged to escape.

The sound of armor and weapons fading, those people disappeared from sight. In fact, they didn't need to worry. The time had passed long enough; as long as Knight Alain wasn't an imbecile, with their forces in disarray, they would surely send reinforcements to help. The goal now was to hold the granary.

Kaelith looked toward the figure entering the forest. The miscellaneous soldiers weren't much of a threat... But two Cuckoo Knights attacking together might break into the estate, and he wasn't willing to take that risk.

"What should I do—"

His hand, gripping the hilt of his dagger, grew pale. Kaelith closed his eyes, then threw a Fire Pot, which shot out like an arrow from a bow.

"Cut him down!"

How about just one person?

In the narrow alley, Daliger immediately realized these scattered enemies weren't backing off. Despite only being a few, they dared to split into two teams. He quickly drew his short spear from behind.

"Want to die?"

As he threw the Fire Pot in a curved arc, it exploded mid-air, scattering flames that ignited the leaves, suddenly lighting up the forest. Using the light, a shadow quickly dashed between the trees, moving with swift steps. Daliger recognized the movement, suddenly realizing the person was holding another Fire Pot.

"Perfect!"

Kaelith, charging forward for ten meters, suddenly threw it. The distance was too short, and the flames exploded right in front of the soldier's shield. The spreading fire forced the other two soldiers to dodge frantically.

The shield blocked the blast, but the soldier wasn't set on fire. He instinctively retreated, only to feel someone step on his shield. Looking up, he saw a shadow soaring overhead, holding a curved sword aimed downward to strike.

Thud...

The Bloodhound's Fang pierced through the round helmet, directly from the top of the skull through to the chest. His wrist trembled slightly as he pulled the blade out, the body falling backward, conveniently kicking the body away. After a moment—

The chest of the body exploded entirely, the cold light brushing past Kaelith's face, splattering him with blood.

The second shot.

In his mind, he silently recited as he fell to the ground. With one hand pressing down, he used his waist to push, flipping backward to evade. The strong wind and falling leaves struck his face, and another spear thrust against his back, stabbing into the ground.

The third shot.

Suddenly halting in mid-air, Kaelith half-sat on the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the cold light from a sword strike. A soldier had been waiting there. However, Kaelith wasn't startled. He tilted his body to intercept, using his arm to fling the mud and dirt away.

Clang!

The straight sword and curved blade clashed, only to fling the dirt off the soldier's face. Immediately, the soldier couldn't see anything. He suddenly felt someone dive under his waist and thrust upward, sending him flying into a hard object above.

Kaelith quickly stood up and turned to see the two soldiers collide. His throw wasn't reckless. The two soldiers had perfectly blocked the knight's line of fire. The one behind, holding a spear, was unsure whether to throw or not.

Although this body wasn't yet fully suited for such actions, my experience and eyesight are still intact!

In that brief moment of hesitation from the enemy, Kaelith suddenly charged forward, his cloak igniting with fiery sparks. He shot through the air like a fiery arrow, the curved sword extended ahead, using the momentum of the attack to suddenly stab forward.

Thud!

The blade sank into the neck of the first elite soldier, piercing through the throat and straight into the soldier's nasal cavity. It then continued to puncture through the face, the blade emerging from the back of the skull. The remaining sensation of pain caused the two soldiers to convulse continuously, and Kaelith pushed forward, relentlessly charging with both bodies.

Bang—

The shredded flesh and broken armor pieces swirled through the air, as Daliger was finally thrown off. The force was so powerful that it pierced through two fully armored bodies, continuing straight into the dark forest beyond.

Such speed, such power, he squinted his eyes as a bloodied figure leaped, a mist of blood following.

Not dead!?

Kaelith said nothing, his chest armor torn open with a deep gash... Had he not tilted his body in time, his entire ribcage would have certainly been crushed.

Fortunately, this guy dashed into the forest. If it had been in the desolate area, even Trolls would probably be casually shot and killed.

Time seemed to slow down. The distance between the two was less than five meters. Seeing the opponent grip the great sword tightly, he decisively activated the Ash of War in the blade.

Bloodhounds Finesse!

Without thinking, the strange power allowed him to unleash a series of linked attacks.

The curved blade swept from low to high, the sword's edge leaving a trail of fiery sparks on the tough armor. The knight in armor wasn't just any ordinary soldier; he wasn't without the ability to program his moves. He took a half-step backward to avoid the sweeping attack. His heel hadn't even hit the ground before he stepped forward again, bringing the heavy great sword down with a crash.

Boom!!

The earth was split open by the strike, but Kaelith had already evaded, retreating swiftly. The benefit of this Ash of War was that it compensated for the reaction time difference to the greatest extent.

As the dirt exploded, Kaelith stood up and immediately activated the second phase, disappearing from sight.

"Hound knight?" In that instant, Daliger had the thought. As allies of the Carian royal family, encountering hound knights here wouldn't be surprising. He twisted the great sword in his hand and flicked it.

"No, it's just a little demon who knows how to use Ash of War!"

Clang!

The great sword collided with the curved blade, sending it spinning into the air. The knight tilted his head and sneered at the young man in mid-air.

"Do you think I've never seen this Ash of War? Go to hell..."

His words died in his throat, as the young man suddenly raised a staff high. Carian royal literature flourished, and a blade of pure magical power formed, glowing... Holding the staff as if it were a sword handle, he exerted all his strength and brought it down with a slash.

Ichimonji Honed!

The concentration of energy was clear, quick, and ruthless without a doubt.

Thud...

A bloom of blood burst forth. The knight cried out in pain as the light blade struck his shoulder armor, cutting through to the chest... He wasn't dead yet, however. Instead, he threw away the sword and grabbed the opponent's throat, squeezing.

Is the strength of Honed determined by magic?

Kaelith didn't look at the giant hand before him. He raised his right hand, just in time to grip the falling Bloodhounds Fang. With a twist of his wrist, he swung the blade horizontally.

Bang—

A cold light swept across the knight's neck. The giant hand around Kaelith's throat instantly went limp. The nearly two-meter-tall warrior kneeled to the ground, his skull rolling far away.

With blood spurting from the severed neck, staining Kaelith in blood, he calmly removed the hand from his throat and turned his head to look at the Sorcerer standing stiffly by the forest, a smile appearing on his lips.

"Sorry, I'm both a mage and a warrior."